Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, May 14, 2009

I heard sad news this week. Hale Center, where my children went to school and two grandgirls currently are in the fourth and first grades, is suspending printing a yearbook. For the first time, the 2008-09 yearbook will be published on a DVD.

I understand the change. Costs for publishing a picture book has skyrocketed and families were deciding that they could do without that expense. A DVD memory will cost about a fourth of the cost of a printed book.

Still, it's sad.

As a friend e-mailed me, it's going to be hard to sign a DVD.

I hadn't thought of that aspect . . . but he's right.

Will students be as excited to get their DVD as we were to pick up our annuals? Will they take their laptops to an autograph party so everyone can send them a Tweet?

We looked forward to the day the annuals came in. As students picked up their copy, they immediately thumbed through to count the number of times their picture was in it, then started asking friends to sign their annual.

We took signing seriously. And it wasn't just our signature. Of course, some signed every one of their pictures (which could be quite a few). One of my classmates memorized the page numbers where he was pictured - football team, honor society, student council, and other organizations, not to mention the candid and random photos. He zipped through those annuals signing his name to every picture.

It was an honor to be asked to write our thoughts in classmates' yearbooks, and those of us who considered ourselves thoughtful, made sure that each book got a different sentiment.

Not everyone realized that we would later compare entries, so there were those who consistently wrote "You're a real sweet gal (or guy) who will go far in life."

We hauled a stack of annuals from class to class, exchanging them after the bell rang, congregating in the halls. This went on for a week or so, even after the annual-signing party.

Teachers realized the importance of the annual-signing-frenzy. Some skipped teaching for a day or two and allowed students to use class time to write in the yearbooks. I'm sure teachers appreciated the break, just as we did. Of course, you realize that this was before the TAKS revolution. Teachers had the freedom to decide how they spent their class time.

We had jokesters who fought to be the first to autograph the funeral home ads. My favorite was "We'll be the last to let you down."

Others wrote poems, "Roses are red, violets are blue, school is nearly over, I'll miss you."

For years, my annuals were packed away in storage, then when I moved to town, I put them in a bookcase where I could find them when former classmates called or e-mailed. As I get older, those annuals come in handy to refresh my memory before our all-school reunions.

Annuals are valuable historical records. I bought an estate several years ago which included several 1920s annuals from the University of Texas. They are large books with fabulous, now historic, photographs and, I might add, they are as heavy as the dickens. The books are so big that I stacked them by a chair and use them for an end table.

Maybe someday, my grandchildren will look through my old annuals and giggle at the notes and autographs. I know for sure, they will "lol" when they see the hairstyles and basketball uniforms.